Is it normal to look smaller when cutting????

[Ozzie87]

I know that my low carb diet will mean less glycogen and water in muscles, i've cut carbs from 330g to 80-100g per day. i'm leaning up really well but i think just look smaller when i look at my body in the mirror. I'm on cycle also guys - test 500mg/week and dbol kickstart 1-4 @ 25mg/day. taking adex @ 0.5mg EOD as im estrogen sensitive. will i look bigger when i increase carbs again? i'd like to hear everyones thoughts on this

 

[gstacker]

It messes with ur mind a lil, and ya when your fully dressed people will comment an say u shrunk, but once your done cuttin an u uncover u will look bigger. Alot of times when I diet down I second guess myself an think maybe I should of added more muscle first...

 

[heavydutyhit]

Yeah man I have been leaning out myself over the last 5 weeks. I was 241 at start and am now 225. I havent weighed less than 235 in years. Funny thing is, when I see people I havent seen in a while then have been telling me how much bigger I look. It is all in our minds bro. Just think how people like Brad Pitt look jacked in movies and they are fucking SMALL!!! If you even have a slight bit of mass, leaning out will make you look bigger.

 

[DJ_UFO]

Specially for an ectomorph. A ripped ecto on the streets will look just like the average ando or meso. However when they get naked, that's when you see the quality.

 

[gstacker]

What's ur stats Ozzie? U sure are doing alot of cardio...

 

[joe d]

you are getting smaller. why dbol? i personally would have went with var.

 

[jimmy04]

yea mate give it a few days of carbs and you will look like heman! it is deffo a mental thing though buddy i go through the same thing every time i lower the carbs and cals. how is your strength? aslong as it dont drop too much then you are not loosing muscle mass. i think moste people just think they have more mass on them then they acctualy do.

 

[REFORMATA]

I have been carb depleting the past 3 months and it works amazing...

After 3 days of depletion I am definitely smaller and can achieve less pump

Question for you bro: do you refeed?

After a 36 hour refeed my muscles are BLOWN up!!

P.s. Get your sodium to around 6 or 7 grams a day (providing you don't have BP problems) that will keep your muscles fuller!!!

 

[ALIN]

I know that my low carb diet will mean less glycogen and water in muscles, i've cut carbs from 330g to 80-100g per day. i'm leaning up really well but i think just look smaller when i look at my body in the mirror. I'm on cycle also guys - test 500mg/week and dbol kickstart 1-4 @ 25mg/day. taking adex @ 0.5mg EOD as im estrogen sensitive. will i look bigger when i increase carbs again? i'd like to hear everyones thoughts on this

Its funny because now I think I look much better leaner and smaller than I did in the past.

 

[gstacker]

Ya your going to need some carbs sooner or later...7 days a week cardio might be a lil to much for my taste but as long as you don't get to crazy on the tredmill u prolly be ok.....
Last time I checked my bf was 18% not sure what it is but I'm
not doing any hard core diet I'm just restricting calories but nothing crazy... I get carbs from my oats in the morning and carbs post work out....
Hope I didn't discourage you at all but give you some things to research... I think everyone that's cut there first time prolly burned a lil more muscle then they wanted too.
Ever get ur bf% checked acuratly? If u have accsess to a water tank you can recheck ur bf half way threw ur cut and know for sure if ur burning any lbm

 

[joe d]

i would drop 2 days of cardio, do not eat all that sodium, and refeed once every 3-4 days. back to the sodium, keep it low all the time. this is verry important for all of your muscles especially your heart.

 

[REFORMATA]

Joe d- I disagree. Especially if you're taking in primarily mono and polyunsaturated fats. Higher sodium intake is IMPERITIVE for staying "full" on a low to no carb diet!! I KNOW this from experience.

Everyone loves to repeat what they hear in regards to sodium. I drink at LEAST 1.5 gallons (measured) a day, NOT including gym water. I have healthy BP. I take it upwards of 6-7 grams of sodium a day. I never cramp. Period. Try it.

Its simple, really. More sodium=more water required to be healthy and not bloat. You only bloat if your h2o intake sucks.

I know this from experience not from "bro talk"

 

[REFORMATA]

P.s. Yes you absolutely should refeed or you will surely lose muscle

That is-unless you aren't touching the iron. And if that's the case why are you sticking yourself with a needle

 

[heavydutyhit]

i would drop 2 days of cardio, do not eat all that sodium, and refeed once every 3-4 days. back to the sodium, keep it low all the time. this is verry important for all of your muscles especially your heart.

Anyone care to run down their personal "refeed" protocol for those bros that do not know how. I have not the time tonight with it being Christmas, but I will post up my version within the next two days.

 

[Varga]

gstacker - stats - 5'10, 212lbs (taken today with low carbs im about 5 or 6lbs heavier when i eat more carbs) 17/18%bf, 22. i'm doing a lot of cardio to shed this excess wieght, you think 7 days a week is too much, i'm doing and hour walking on incline keeping heart rate between 60% and 70% of max. as i understand that is how to get your body to burn fat?


Joe - dbol is all i could get, needed a kickstart to prevent catabolism until my omnadren takes full effect. thats a bit negitive lol im only joking how about some of your expert advice on how to best preserve muscle?? I've got so much still to learn..........
jimmy04 - cheers man lol. my strength is increasing, i'm strong and have lots of energy in the gym, i'm trying to put on a few lbs of lbm while cutting, just worried about doing the opposite....... i wish i was like that bro haha i always think i look small bar a few occasions pumped in the gym.....

reformata - no i don't refeed, i've just stuck to 80-100g carbs/day, 250g protein, 100ish g of fat. should i be refeeding???? i'm not sure of my exact sodium intake, it would be lower than that for sure, i'll try increasing, thanks for that!

alin - i know, i've wanted to have defined delts,abs etc yunno, a 10% or below bf% my whole teenage and adult life, i can't wait to get this blubber of me and see some detail.

thanks for all the posts guys its gonna officially be christmas in 30mins where i am so wish you all a merry one

I think you on the wrong track...this diet will not get you the results you want. 80g of carbs for long periods of time will do a lot of damage to your sugar levels and your body ability to process carbs after...this low carb thing should be a temporary deal few weeks tops!
If you go longer than that you need to refeed!

 

[gstacker]

I think you on the wrong track...this diet will not get you the results you want. 80g of carbs for long periods of time will do a lot of damage to your sugar levels and your body ability to process carbs after...this low carb thing should be a temporary deal few weeks tops!
If you go longer than that you need to refeed!

Thanks for your input on my post, I get alot more than 80grams of carbs per day and also have days I add even more carbs throught the day, like I said I'm not doing any hard core diet jus steady slow body recomp. My advice to ozzie was to at least carb up at least weekly or get some carbs in like I do. But going weeks with 80grams a day and 7 days cardio n lifting is insane an I jus want the good bro to have a my input so he can research all this stuff on his own... I'm deff not a diet guru and won't make that claim, but I know enough to give em a heads up if somthing ain't right.

Merry xmass!!!

 

[zack!!!]

keen to see what you guys do as far as re feeds go

 

[joe d]

Joe d- I disagree. Especially if you're taking in primarily mono and polyunsaturated fats. Higher sodium intake is IMPERITIVE for staying "full" on a low to no carb diet!! I KNOW this from experience.

Everyone loves to repeat what they hear in regards to sodium. I drink at LEAST 1.5 gallons (measured) a day, NOT including gym water. I have healthy BP. I take it upwards of 6-7 grams of sodium a day. I never cramp. Period. Try it.

Its simple, really. More sodium=more water required to be healthy and not bloat. You only bloat if your h2o intake sucks.

I know this from experience not from "bro talk"

dont start taking shots. i repeat what i learn not just hear say crap. if everything was new all the time this board would have a 1000 thread count. high sodium is verry bad for you. thinking you are compensating for the bad by adding some good is an act of ignorance to your physical health. you may still have your health now but thats just for now. i suggest you run this diet past your doctor and see what he says before you wind up being forced into a different train of thought in regards to your health like i was.

 

[REFORMATA]

Fair enough Joe. Ill talk to him when next I see him-although I know what he will say.

Question: are you well-versed in Ketogenic eating Joe? This sodium deal is strictly for hardcore keto. And also, I am NOT talking "table salt." I do strictly sea salt. I feel so much better using sea salt.

As far as refeeds: my FAVORITE day!! I try to get in as much as I can. Sunday is my refeed day, and by then I am so depleted it would be physically impossible for me to eat "too many" carbs in just 24 hours. I've learned a lot from OneBreath, as well as Lyle Mcdonald, and Ken Skip Hill in regards to this style of eating.

I go as low fat as possible for thr majority of mt carbups. Why? Because your body is still burning fat for fuel for the first few hours after glycogen is re-introduced, and you may lose bodyfat by keeping fat intake low. We neednt worry about fat gain from eating a box of poptarts or our favorite cereal-our muscles are screaming for glycogen and all the carbohydrates we eat will go there. You must really pack down food, which is another reason to go low fat. As fat will slow digestion and make it hard for you to get in enough carbohydrates, leaving you still flat, bloated likely, and disappointed.

Some good food options: waffles, syrup, cereal, lowfat poptarts, lowfat brownies and cookies, fat free ice cream, twizzlers, skittles, etc.

I actually get sick of these kinds of foods, so once a month or so I do a refeed with normal food that I enjoy, because I'm human after all!

An important tip: its imperative that you complete a depletion workout directly prior to your refeed. This needs to be full body, and can either be high volume curcuit style, or more low volume high weight to encourage growth. If you want to encourage growth I suggest doing heavy lifts, and some high intensity interval cardio afterwards, followed by 15-20 minutes of LISS cardio.

2 hours prior to depletion workout: eat a piece of fruit, or drink 8 oz of 100 percent fruit juice to get your liver primed to process glycogen.

Hope this helps bros!!

 

[joe d]

Fair enough Joe. Ill talk to him when next I see him-although I know what he will say.

Question: are you well-versed in Ketogenic eating Joe? This sodium deal is strictly for hardcore keto. And also, I am NOT talking "table salt." I do strictly sea salt. I feel so much better using sea salt.

As far as refeeds: my FAVORITE day!! I try to get in as much as I can. Sunday is my refeed day, and by then I am so depleted it would be physically impossible for me to eat "too many" carbs in just 24 hours. I've learned a lot from OneBreath, as well as Lyle Mcdonald, and Ken Skip Hill in regards to this style of eating.

I go as low fat as possible for thr majority of mt carbups. Why? Because your body is still burning fat for fuel for the first few hours after glycogen is re-introduced, and you may lose bodyfat by keeping fat intake low. We neednt worry about fat gain from eating a box of poptarts or our favorite cereal-our muscles are screaming for glycogen and all the carbohydrates we eat will go there. You must really pack down food, which is another reason to go low fat. As fat will slow digestion and make it hard for you to get in enough carbohydrates, leaving you still flat, bloated likely, and disappointed.

Some good food options: waffles, syrup, cereal, lowfat poptarts, lowfat brownies and cookies, fat free ice cream, twizzlers, skittles, etc.

I actually get sick of these kinds of foods, so once a month or so I do a refeed with normal food that I enjoy, because I'm human after all!

An important tip: its imperative that you complete a depletion workout directly prior to your refeed. This needs to be full body, and can either be high volume curcuit style, or more low volume high weight to encourage growth. If you want to encourage growth I suggest doing heavy lifts, and some high intensity interval cardio afterwards, followed by 15-20 minutes of LISS cardio.

2 hours prior to depletion workout: eat a piece of fruit, or drink 8 oz of 100 percent fruit juice to get your liver primed to process glycogen.

Hope this helps bros!!

i am not a huge fan of keto and dont have a lot of experience with it. i have done it but have had better success with other methods.

 

[REFORMATA]

Which methods worked for you?

 

[joe d]

i like to cut about 50% of my carbs and use diet drugs along with a couple extra days of fasted cardio. i will do a 5 day spliy with high reps as aposed to my typical heavy 3 day splits.

 

[kawikaratekid]

^ Which type of diet drugs do you use?

 

[79steeler]

Clothes on definately will look smaller, closes off will look bigger. So at the lake and beach ya look great the rest of the time it kinda plays with your mind, you just don't fill out your shirts the same.

 

[REFORMATA]

BUMP

Joe! Tell us bro!

 

[joe d]

i use eca.